Chapter 12
The newly developed software was vastly different from the one I'd abandoned halfway through last time. The Novagen Group's financial system had been thoroughly upgraded, and cracking it was no easy task. But combined with the USB virus I'd prepared in advance, once I plugged it into their computer terminal and watched the data copying rapidly across the screen, my smile grew even wider.
At that moment, all the computers on their end were completely paralyzed. My fingers flew across the keyboard - even if they shut down the power now, I could still operate smoothly from my end.
Five minutes later, two hundred million dollars was transferred into Michael's secure account. Excited, I closed my laptop.
They say that after a perfect crime, criminals return to the scene to admire their great work. I was no exception.
I scrolled through the news, and sure enough, the story about The Novagen Group's financial system being hacked quickly became a trending topic. William was at the police station entrance, vowing to get to the bottom of it. He announced that the company had lost two hundred million dollars, and they would offer one hundred million as a reward, calling on the entire internet to help find the hacker and recover the losses.
Michael stood beside me, watching me browse through the news pages with great interest, no longer shocked: "Aren't you afraid the cyber crimes unit will actually track this here? With such a huge amount, there might be international disputes."
I patted my laptop: "If they trace the source, they'll end up somewhere else. If it were that easy to track, would I have spent a year setting this up?"
Michael looked at me with a smile in his eyes: "I've noticed you're someone who holds grudges. Will there come a day when you take my money too?"
I smiled back: "Mr. Johnson, you're not my enemy. I've always been clear about gratitude and grudges. You've been like a second creator to me, so you can rest assured, I won't retaliate against you."
"Alright, it's often said that if you trust someone, trust them completely. Do whatever you want boldly. I'll tell my people to fully cooperate with you. I'm still waiting for the day we push Oscar out of the market. When that time comes, forget freedom - I'll give you a big gift when you leave." Michael straightened up, making me another promise.
I continued wearing my veil, appearing more frequently at various events. But I never expected the world to be so small.
"Emma?" Someone behind me seemed to be calling my name.
I instinctively wanted to turn around, but another voice made my spine stiffen: "Gregory, who are you calling?"
His hand lightly tapped my shoulder, Gregory's voice urgent: "Emma, I finally found you."
I whipped around and delivered a back kick that knocked him to the ground. Through my veil, I looked at him coldly: "You've got the wrong person."
Gregory stood up, the eagerness in his eyes gradually cooling, but still filled with disbelief: "How is that possible? Just now it was clearly..."
Sophia quickly stepped forward to stand between us. She first looked at my veiled face, then shifted her gaze from my face to my hands. On my right hand, the scar from the dagger wound was long gone. The tension on my face finally relaxed: "Gregory, why are you in such a hurry? I could barely keep up with you."
Looking at them, I felt like laughing. Were they delivering themselves for a lesson?
The four bodyguards behind me immediately positioned themselves in front of me, blocking me from view, their voices menacing and warning: "Back off."
Sophia was startled by their fierce appearance and quickly pulled Gregory back a step: "Sorry, we... got the wrong person. Gregory, let's go, they look scary."
If they were smart, leaving now would be the best choice.
But Gregory did the stupidest thing. He still looked at me reluctantly: "Could you... let me see your face?"
The bodyguard pushed him far back: "Stay away. Keep bothering us and we won't be nice about it."
"But she really looks like my wife, especially from behind, exactly the same..." Gregory said urgently.
Wife? I felt like laughing. An uncompleted wedding - how did it become such a deep love story in his version?
"I'll leave them to you," I said coldly to the bodyguards, then turned to leave.
I heard Sophia's screams behind me, and Gregory's muffled grunts as fists hit his body. These were just small lessons. They would soon learn exactly what kind of person they shouldn't have messed with today.
"Stop hitting him! How can you be so unreasonable? Even if we got the wrong person, you can't just hit people!"
"Gregory, I'm calling the police, I'm calling them right now."
"Just don't kill them," I instructed without looking back, feeling quite pleased. I'd tell the police not to take it too seriously, leave some room - can't actually kill them and have the authorities turn a blind eye, or it might cause international disputes. That would be troublesome.
Today didn't seem like a good day to go out. Oscar suddenly blocked my path, his face beaming: "Emily, what a coincidence! I heard you were on a business trip to Novaria recently?"
I stepped aside: "Mr. Lopez, did you need something from me?"
Oscar shook his head: "No, I just said it's quite a coincidence, running into each other. You're not going to beat me up too, are you?"
So he'd seen the whole scene just now: "Mr. Lopez, you're not someone who makes small talk for no reason. Sorry, I have other things to do. I'll be going."
"Can't we chat when we meet? Is Mr. Johnson being a bit too controlling?" Oscar teased.
I didn't want to waste words with him. There are no friends in business, especially not in this place where people die every day. I just wanted to do my job well and leave this godforsaken place after three years.
"Don't you want to know what Gregory's doing here?" Oscar suddenly said as I turned and took two steps away.
If there was still doubt at first, now I could be one hundred percent certain that Oscar was indeed connected to the Lopez family.
I stopped and turned to look at him: "Who exactly are you? What do you know?"
"Let's find a place to talk. This isn't a good place for conversation." Oscar made an inviting gesture.
I followed Oscar to a quiet café. He had the staff temporarily close the shop, and when there were just the two of us in the entire café, I said flatly: "Mr. Lopez, what you're about to say better be what I want to hear."
Oscar didn't seem to mind my rudeness: "Were you just thinking about having them killed? Emily, I've always known you're a smart woman. You shouldn't make such basic mistakes."
I snorted coldly, crossing my arms as I looked at him: "I didn't come here to listen to you lecture me. What's your relationship with Gregory?"
Oscar leaned back leisurely against the sofa, looking at me with a bright smile: "You transferred their company's funds, causing The Novagen Group to face bankruptcy now, so they came to seek my help. As for my relationship with him, there is one - by seniority, Gregory should call me uncle."
"I've never heard of the Lopez family having someone like you." I'd known Gregory for ten years - when did an uncle suddenly appear?
Oscar still smiled gently: "It's normal you don't know. My identity isn't recognized by them, and they've tried every way to send me far away. If it weren't for this company crisis, they probably wouldn't have come to me."
"Why are you telling me this?" Nobody reveals their cards to an enemy for no reason.
"I'm telling you this to express that we have a common goal. On this point, we can be friends." Oscar looked at me with certainty, as if knowing I wouldn't refuse.
"And—" he paused, looking at me with a confident smile, "You witnessed their desperation firsthand - they're making reckless moves now. Why not capitalize on their weakness and deliver the knockout punch? Novagen Group isn't a quick takeover, but I can keep them bleeding while we position ourselves to divide the spoils. Are you in?"